Fuse
by Teala373
Summary: AU - What if Lois Lane liked Clark Kent, but not Superman? What if there were other survivors of Krypton? What if no matter what the continuity, Bruce still gets in Clark's way?
1. Chapter 1

Fuse

By Teala373

Chapter 1: Meeting for the First Time

Synopsis: AU - What if Lois Lane liked Clark Kent, but not Superman? What if there were other survivors of Krypton? What if no matter what the continuity, Bruce still gets in Clark's way?

Author's Notes: There are multiple references to scenes and incidents from other Superman continuities. Also, I'm not feeling solid on all my comma usage in this one. Ever since I had twins, my brain's been a little mushy… so, sorry for the punctuation faux pas. I could really use a beta reader!

(o)O(o)

The first time Clark Kent actually saw Lois Lane was at a journalist conference in Chicago, just before he accepted the transfer to Metropolis.

His articles had been winning him accolades and were being picked up by bigger and bigger publications. Even the great Perry White, editor-in-chief to one of the nation's largest and most recognized publications, had taken notice of him.

The grand hotel ballroom was tastefully made up in cream and an odd shade of slate blue that somehow only existed in the hotel industry. While drinking a mediocre cup of lukewarm coffee, he tried to pay attention to the advice that veteran journalist Ed Hagner was insistently giving him, but he was distracted by voices he was overhearing from the side of the stage.

"What do you mean Olsen isn't here yet with my presentation file? I am not going to give this presentation without visual aides! Get on the phone and tell Olsen if he doesn't get his barely-graduated-ass over here with that file, I'm going to carve out his organs in alphabetical order and sell them to cannibals!"

"Right away, Miss Lane," came a nervous reply from the twitching young woman who immediately whipped out a cell phone and began dialing, "is there anything else?"

"Yeah, who do I have to kill to get a white chocolate mocha around here?"

Nodding at the newest piece of advice Mr. Hagner was giving him, Clark continued tuning his ears towards the continued demands of the conference's star speaker as she checked every piece of audio/visual equipment, barking at one of the staff workers as to why it wasn't up to her satisfaction and what they could do about it. There were also several more times she hollered for a status on Olsen and her missing presentation file.

It went on and on, even as everyone was seated and other speakers took the stage. Of course, no one could hear the ranting of the nation's top journalist as her assault was confined to the backstage arena; only Clark's finely tuned ears were picking up her continued tirade that lasted all the way until she was announced to present.

Lois Lane was everything the rumors said she was: ambitious, cold, arrogant, calculated, and stubborn. Yet, as Clark watched her speak to the eager room full of rising stars in the journalist community, he saw something else.

He had always prided himself on his instincts and judge of character, and what they were now gathering from the beautiful woman captivating the room was very interesting. He could somehow sense that her tough exterior was just a façade. There was something else inside her that he could see peeking through.

He had never believed in love at first sight. He had actually never given much thought to love. However, the woman before him, the beautiful, untouchable ice queen, was swiftly changing all that.

(o)O(o)

Lois Lane was on fire. She had worked hard to glean every last lesson she could from Perry White and cement her reputation as the number one reporter in the city. People knew her name. People read her stories. People gave her awards for her articles. The article in her hand was about to be her next front-page masterpiece.

"I got it, Chief!" She called out as she burst through Perry White's front door while still looking over her print out. "It's got everything: tragedy, scandal, murder, sex, arson, corruption, and even good triumphing over evil. All masterfully told by yours truly."

She tossed her papers with glowing triumph on Perry's desk, completely avoiding the two bodies she was now becoming aware were standing to her left. Suppressing the feeling of embarrassment for being rude, she continued to look at her boss from across his desk. No matter what she truly felt inside, she had learned a long time ago that if she wanted to stay at the top, she had to act like she was at the top.

"Good, you're free to take care of something for me," Perry grunted, barely acknowledging the article. "Metropolis is a little too big for even you. I need you to keep up with Wayne Enterprises and Lex Corp. When those two start going off, I'll still need the city beat covered, so I called in some fresh blood."

Lois felt her body clench as she tried to keep her face from dropping. She was used to covering Lex Corp, but she hated covering Wayne Enterprises, even if it had given her some great material over the years. And she certainly didn't want some new person muscling in on her turf. It wasn't unusual for Perry to shake up assignments and bring in reporters from other areas; however, he had never shaken Lois up. Perry always liked Lois just where she was, and never forced her to partner up.

Perry gestured to the man standing immediately next to Lois. "Lois, this is Clark Kent. Show him around, get him settled, try not to chew him up and spit him out."

Lois turned and found she had to look up. The man next to her was quite tall. Looking past his broad shoulders, she couldn't help but to notice that even though he looked a little old fashioned, he was handsome. She felt her body unclench as he smiled at her.

"Um… h-hello. It's nice to meet you Miss Lane. I've been a big fan of your work."

Taking his hand and meeting his firm shake, Lois found herself smiling back. "Nice to meet you, too. Where are you from?"

"Smallville, Kansas."

Cocking her head slightly to one side, Lois gave him a look he couldn't quite place. "I've been to Smallville a few times. It's a very nice area. Very peaceful."

Clark smiled again and she swore she felt her insides turn to jelly. "Do you have family there?"

The unreadable look touched her eyes again. "You could say that."

"Alright, you two," Perry barked, "get to work."

As the walked out into the bullpen, the other man who had been in the office trailed behind them.

"You should feel honored, Mr. Kent," Jimmy Olson, a young photographer who often trailed along with Lois, offered the man he had shown to Perry's office, "Miss Lane hardly ever smiles for anyone, and I can't remember the last time she met someone from the mid-west without making a joke about corn fields."

Lois whipped around to shoot Jimmy a death glare. "Can it, Olson." She turned back towards Clark. "Were you assigned a desk, yet?"

Clark pointed out a desk that was two up from hers and across the large center aisle. She helped him get settled and showed him around, much to the surprise of everyone in the office. By the time they were done, it was 10:30 and Lois informed Clark they were off to a Lex Corp press conference to "hear the latest and greatest from the man everyone loves to hate from behind his back."

(o)O(o)

Over the next two weeks, Clark acclimated himself with Metropolis. Lois and Jimmy took him all over the city and gave him the inside scoop on all of the major players and hot spots.

They kept him so busy he hardly had time to contemplate when he was going to reveal his other persona to the public. He had done a few small jobs, using his speed to keep from being noticed.

'Who are you kidding, Clark,' he thought to himself as he turned to gaze over at Lois while she typed the outline for her latest story, 'you enjoy being a mild-mannered reporter attached at the hip to Lois Lane.'

Since they had first met, Lois and Clark were hardly ever separated. Lois took him to every restaurant, conference, event, gala, and exhibit the city had to offer. They ate breakfast, lunch, and often times, dinner together with Jimmy, and stayed late to watch the stories go through to print. She seemed perfectly content to cover stories alongside him and share her bylines.

He wondered exactly what it was about him that turned Lois from an arrogant, ambitious lion to a fun and thoughtful woman that never stopped smiling. She was normally brash, outspoken, direct and even rude, barking orders and leveling anyone she talked to with snappy quips from her razor-sharp tongue. Even Jimmy, who seemed to be the only other person in the office she didn't loathe, met her wrath from time to time.

But, never Clark.

Even after she put on her game face and fired away an array of challenging questions with her forceful, intimidating demeanor, she would always turn to him with a smile afterwards, as if she were a totally different person.

He briefly entertained the thought that maybe she possibly liked him as more than a co-worker, but he quickly brushed it aside. Despite her attentions towards him, Lois was a no-nonsense career woman that clearly had no time or interest in a relationship. He also didn't think his 'awe-shucks', boy scout persona was what a strong, independent woman such as Lois would find attractive.

"Hey, Smalleville," Lois perched on the edge of Clark's desk and smiled down at him, "you ready to cut the cord and strike out on your own?"

He smiled back nervously. The combined scent of her perfume and shampoo were driving him crazy. "Uh, yeah. What did you have in mind?"

"Looks like the Wayne Tech division of the mighty Wayne Empire has some interesting developments. The chopper is taking me to Gotham tonight. Think you can cover the city beat and try not to miss me too much over the next few days?"

"I'll do my best."

Lois flashed a large, infectious smile. "Great. Wanna catch a quick bite with me before I head off?"

Nodding, Clark grabbed his suit jacket, but Jimmy quickly intercepted them.

"Chief wants you to take a quick look at these," he handed Lois a stack of envelopes, "and see if there's anything interesting for the editorial page."

"This will just take a second, Clark."

Sitting back down in his chair, Clark watched as Lois deftly opened each envelope and within seconds determined it was 'crap'.

"What are those?" He asked as she skimmed another letter before tossing it in the recycling bin.

"Mail from readers. Most of it just reiterates what we've already written, but you find a few winners from time to time."

She handed a letter over to Jimmy, who placed it in a folder. Five others went into the recycle bin.

The last envelope had little drawings all over it, causing Lois to examine it for a moment. As she took the paper out and discarded the envelope, Clark picked it up to investigate. While the handwriting was neat and clearly of an older woman, the drawings were the handiwork of a small child.

"This is interesting. I don't know what to do with it, but it's interesting," Lois mumbled, catching Clark and Jimmy's attention.

"It's a little girl who says she has a big story for me. Listen to this: 'Dear Lois Lane, I have a big story for you to report at the Daily Planet. I was saved from a fire in my building by a big blue angel with red wings. My mom was very happy that I was okay, but she didn't see the angel. Can you find him and let everyone know how great he is. I enclosed a picture so you know what to look for.' Signed, Casey Myers. Well, let's check out this picture."

Lois pulled the picture out from behind the letter and her face froze. Clark stood and looked over one shoulder, while Jimmy looked over the other. The picture showed a man, head-to-toe in blue, with big red wings, flying away from a building that was clearly on fire. Below on the ground was a small girl with blonde pigtails. But that wasn't what was attracting Lois' attention. She was staring at the red outline of a diamond, with an 'S' in the middle, on the angel's chest.

"What's that supposed to be?" Jimmy asked, pointing to the 'S'.

Both Lois and Clark remained quiet.

Finally, Lois thrust the letter and picture at Jimmy. "Put these on my desk. I'll look into it later. Right now, I'm hungry." She grabbed her purse and began heading for the door. "C'mon, Kent! I don't have a lot of time before take off!"

Clark followed Lois to the elevator, his mind wandering to why Lois seemed disturbed by the picture and how that little girl possibly saw him when he set her on the ground. He had wrapped her in a flame retardant blanket, covering her eyes, or so he had thought.

Lois led him downstairs to the small café on the corner of their block. They talked about the latest on-goings and how Lois felt Clark should approach his next set of assignments.

"If some juicy story should fall from the sky, drop what you've got with Harry," Lois advised as she dunked one of her fries into her chocolate milkshake, eliciting a look from Clark. "Use the contact database to determine who to talk to and muscle your way to the front line. You don't have to be as much of a bear as the Chief and I, but I've noted how clever you are. You have your own style; nothing wrong with that."

Clark tried to thwart Lois from dunking another fry into her milkshake, but she not only succeeded, she also managed to stuff it in his mouth.

"Hey, that's actually pretty good."

Lois pointed a new fry in his direction. "Never underestimate me when it comes to food, Kent. I'm good at two things: journalism and eating."

Laughing, Clark swiped a fry off her plate. "I do have to admit that I've learned just as much about food as I have about reporting in Metropolis."

She smirked back. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Olson when he started: stick with me and you'll be well fed."

There was only time for a few more quick pieces of advice before Lois had to grab her bags and head up to the one of the roofs of the multileveled Daily Planet building that held a landing pad.

(o)O(o)

"Ok, Mr. Kent, starting tomorrow, it's just you and me," Jimmy happily called out as he packed up his camera bag. "Ms. Lane told me to make sure I took real good care of you."

Smiling, Clark closed the lid on his briefcase. "We should be alright, Jimmy. Lois gave me some tips over diner."

A thud echoed across the nearly empty room as Jimmy dropped his case to the ground. "She shared her secrets with you?"

Clark looked up innocently. "Yes. Why?"

"Don't get me wrong, Clark, I love working with Lois, but she isn't exactly the warm and fuzzy type. Then, you walk in here, and it's like she couldn't be nicer. I've been buying it because working with you is a direct order from Perry, but sharing her trade secrets? That's just too much! What kind of spell do you have her under?"

Staring blankly at Jimmy, Clark shrugged. "I think she's just being helpful."

"So, like I was saying, what kind of spell do you have her under?"

(o)O(o)

Lois didn't particularly like riding in helicopters, but she had grown accustomed to it over her years of journalism. The Daily Planet had several small choppers for reporting purposes, one of which Perry liked to use for weekend getaways and jaunts to a private golf course.

Ignoring the odd, gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach, Lois climbed aboard. As she buckled her safety belt, she thought about the symbol she had seen in the picture of the blue angel. Lois had seen that symbol before and she didn't like that the person brandishing it was now in Metropolis.

(o)O(o)

Before leaving the office for the night, Clark went over to Lois' desk to look at the drawing by Casey Myers one last time. He had accessed an interactive hologram from his birth father about having a public identity. His father's words had been wise, but he wasn't sure if he was ready. It wasn't that he doubted his abilities; it was that he had always been Clark Kent, only sometimes being Kal-El, but now… now things would change.

His thoughts were heavy as he walked out on to the streets of Metropolis, but they were soon cut short as he saw the panicked crowd screaming and pointing upward. Looking up, he saw the Daily Planet's helicopter dangling from the rooftop's edge, and Lois hanging on for dear life out of the passenger door.

The firemen and police were setting up a perimeter and preparing a safety net for Lois and the pilot to fall into.

Clark had a better idea.


	2. Chapter 2

Fuse

By Teala373

Chapter 2: Who is Superman?

(o)O(o)

Perry was in his glory. The biggest story of the century and it happened to his ace reporter. Though she had been pretty shaken, she had pulled an all-nighter and written the story for the front page.

Lois should have looked like the cat that swallowed the canary, but she sat in stony silence around the Daily Planet conference table as Perry barked orders about finding this 'Superman', as Lois had called him in her article.

Clark watched Lois' face carefully. She had seemed terrified of him, no matter how he had tried to soothe her with calming words during the rescue. She had held her ground enough to ask him a few questions, but he felt no matter how he smiled and spoke softly, she still felt threatened by him somehow.

Sighing, he continued to watch her as the other reporters spoke up about other supposed Superman sightings. Perry finally concluded the meeting, demanding more information on Superman, and that someone try to get some sort of interview.

"Lois!" He barked, causing the usually collected reporter to jump in her seat. "You're off Wayne and Lex Corp! From now on, I want you on this Superman 24-7!"

"But, Chief," Lois started to protest.

"No 'buts', Lois! You just nailed one of the greatest stories of our time. Go nail another one! Move!"

There was a mad dash for the door as all the reporters scrambled to go get any information on Superman. Clark tried to fight through the sea of colliding bodies to get over to Lois, who appeared to be fading with each step she took. He finally managed to catch up with her at her desk.

"Hey, Lois, are you alright?"

Lois look up and flashed a smile, but her eyes seemed vacant. "Sure, Clark. I just had a really long and… unusual… night. I, um, guess I'm still a bit rattled from the whole thing, you know?"

Clark nodded. "Do you want me to get you something to eat? We missed breakfast with Perry calling that meeting first thing."

At the sound of food, Lois seemed to perk up. She grabbed her purse and linked her arm with Clark's. "Did I ever mention you're just about the best partner ever?"

Feigning hurt, Clark tugged on her arm playfully as they began walking out. "I'm the only partner you've ever had, Lois."

"Yeah, but you're still the best."

They smiled at each other as they walked towards the elevator. Others in the office who noticed shook their heads in disbelief that the seemingly awkward and timid Clark Kent was still capturing the attention of the legendary Lois Lane.

(o)O(o)

Breakfast consisted of Clark taking Lois to the very out of the way and secluded DiPaolo's bakery on the other side of downtown. They shared an array of pastries and white chocolate mocha lattes (though Clark would have preferred just regular coffee, but Lois ordered) while Lois shared her latest plan.

"So, I was thinking maybe we could pull a late nighter and plot out some of these Superman sightings on a map," she announced after attacking a chocolate croissant. "We'll compile what we know about him already and formulate a plan from there."

Clark was curious about Lois' sudden vigor and change of pace. "Are you sure you're okay, Lois?"

"Yeah, yeah," she waved her hand to dismiss the thought before she plowed into more details of her plan.

"Lois, I'm serious," Clark interrupted. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Averting his gaze, Lois frowned at some imaginary spot on the table. "I don't know, I mean, who is this guy? Who does he think he is? What is he doing in Metropolis? Why isn't… why isn't the government going crazy about some alien flying around?"

Now Clark frowned. "Who ever said he was an alien?"

Lois looked up suddenly, a light pink tingeing her cheeks. "Well, of course he's alien! I mean, he's clearly not from this world."

"But how do you know?" Clark pressed. "He could just be a human with special abilities, just like any other superhero."

Her eyes steeling over, Lois met Clark's challenging glare. "Just call it a hunch."

Dropping the topic, they switched over to lighter conversation while finishing breakfast. Soon, it was time to head back and Lois was getting stares from people who recognized her from the amazing shot Jimmy had somehow got with his telephoto lens of Superman rescuing her. When Perry had heard of the news, he had personally gone down to the paper and oversaw the night editor's work. He had Jimmy's photo blown up as big as he could to accompany Lois' article.

"I liked it when everyone knew me because of my articles, not because I was a damsel in distress," Lois mumbled as Clark hailed a cab to take them back to the planet.

Clearing his throat, Clark held the door open for Lois and helped her in the car. He would have thought that a woman such as Lois would like Superman, but she seemed very suspicious and even a little threatened by him.

'It must just be all the stress from the situation,' he thought on the car ride back as he began working out when Superman could next meet Lois.

(o)O(o)

The sky had long since gone dark as Lois, Clark, and Jimmy poured over maps and the day's newspaper articles, trying to find a fresh angle on the Superman phenomenon.

"I don't have any sightings of him outside of downtown Metropolis," Jimmy sighed as he dropped into a nearby chair.

"Yeah," Lois stood and stretched her arms above her head, "let's take a break." She began heading towards the elevator.

"Lois?" Clark knew that sometimes when Lois was stressed, she liked to go up on one of the roofs to get some air and clear her head.

"I'm fine, Clark," Lois waved back as she glided out the door, "just need some fresh air. Pour me another cup of coffee."

Using his x-ray vision, Clark looked through the walls to watch Lois ride the elevator to the very top roof. He noted how deep in thought she appeared to be and how shaky her breath had become.

"Coffee's out!" Jimmy called from the small office kitchenette. "I'll run down to the 24-hour place."

Clark smiled to himself before making his own way to the roof.

(o)O(o)

Lois leaned heavily against the tall railing as she stared out over the city at the starry skyline. She hummed a small tune as she mentally named the stars that came into her view.

"Good evening, Miss Lane."

A small scream lingered in the back of Lois' throat as she spun around to see Superman hovering a few inches above the concrete in front of her.

"I'm sorry if I startled you," he offered when she didn't say anything, only stare at him wide eyed.

"S-sorry, I just…" her eyes steeled over, "I just came out here to be alone."

"I didn't mean to intrude…"

"I'm fine. I wasn't going to jump or anything," Lois interrupted, "I was just getting some air, so you can go save someone else," her eyes darkened in such a way that it was impossible for him to miss the fury within them, "that is what you _do _isn't it?"

"I didn't come here because I thought you were in danger, Miss Lane," he sighed heavily, wondering why she was so negative towards him.

"Then… why are you here?" She asked, the slight look of panic evident in her features.

He could hear her pulse rising. "I came because I know people are curious about me and I thought you could tell my story."

"Me? Why me?" she replied a little too quickly.

He smiled. "Well, you are the best reporter in Metropolis."

Biting her lip, she fumbled for an excuse. "I'm not exactly prepared…"

"I was thinking tomorrow evening."

A silky brunette eyebrow rose. "Oh, will the world be in less peril tomorrow?"

Smiling, he lowered to the ground and stepped closer to Lois. "I thought I could drop by your place around 8 o'clock."

"How… how do you know where I live?" She quivered slightly.

"Miss Lane…"

Sidestepping him, she headed for the door. "I just remembered, I really have to go see Clark about something. Excuse me."

Frowning, Superman watched her go before quickly making his way downstairs.

(o)O(o)

Clark tried to look nonchalant as he stood at Lois' desk, pretending he didn't know what had just happened on the rooftop, but his mind was reeling. He didn't understand what it was about his Superman persona that bothered Lois so much. As he looked over the city map marked with Superman sightings, Lois came bursting through the door.

"Clark!" she called out in desperation as her eyes met his from across the room.

Moving out to the center aisle, Clark stood speechless as Lois ran towards him and leapt into his arms. Wrapping his own tightly around her, he noted how she buried her face in his neck and trembled.

"Lois? What is it? What happened?"

"I… I saw Superman," came her muffled reply. "Can you… can you just hold me for a moment?"

Tightening his hold, Clark held Lois as though she were the most important and most precious thing in the world. His mind spun as to why this tough-as-nails woman would need to be comforted after simply talking to Superman. Sighing, he ran his hand through her hair to soothe her. He ignored when Jimmy walked through the door and dropped the three white chocolate mocha lattes he was carrying.


	3. Chapter 3

Fuse

By Teala373

Chapter 3: Small Revelations

(o)O(o)

Clark should have been enjoying this moment. Lois was at the most vulnerable that probably anyone would ever see her and she had wanted him to console her. She had leapt in his arms and asked him to hold her, all of which he gladly complied.

However, the moment was bittersweet. The reason Lois was so upset was because of him, the Superman part of him. He thought he had a calm and even pleasant demeanor, definitely non-threatening. The other people he had saved last night all seemed grateful and put at ease by his mannerisms. The interactive holograms of his father warned him that some would fear him, but Lois had no reason to. He had saved her and offered her the interview of her career. Why was she clearly so disturbed by his presence?

The conflict within him only grew with each passing moment of holding her so close. Her scent was intoxicating and she seemed to fit perfectly against him. Her breath on his neck and her arms wrapped around him were maddening.

Jimmy had quietly picked up the spilled coffee and had made his way out of the office, undoubtedly to get more coffee. Clark knew they didn't have a lot of time before he came back.

Untangling his hand from her hair, he pulled her back a bit to look in her eyes. There were definite tears lingering behind them and the corners of her mouth were turned down.

"Hey," he began softly, still keeping one arm firm around her waist, "talk to me, Lois."

She took in a deep breath before speaking. "Superman approached me on the roof," she swallowed a large lump in her throat, "and invited himself over tomorrow for an interview."

With his free hand, Clark reached up and thumbed away a tear starting to fall down her cheek. "Wow, that really sounds horrible. The man that has the entire newsroom going crazy drops the interview of a lifetime right in your lap, and this is after he saved your life the night before. That's really rough."

"Don't joke!" She swatted him playfully and smiled slightly while stepping out of his embrace.

He gently took her hand in his, running his thumb across her wrist. He tried not to smile when he saw her shiver and felt her pulse jump from his touch. "Lois, what is it about Superman that has you so upset?"

She closed her eyes and sighed before answering. "I just don't trust him."

"You don't know him. Besides, he seems friendly. He saves people and offers interviews."

Sighing again, Lois walked over to her desk chair and sat down. "I… I wish I could explain it… but, I just don't like him."

"Well," Clark cleared his throat, "maybe you'll change your mind after the interview."

Lois rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever," she paused to look him steadily in the eye, her face softening. "Listen Clark, thanks for… for being there for me. I can't… I can't be an ice queen all the time, ya know? It's nice to know that when I'm not, I have someone like you around to… just be genuine and not… take advantage…"

Pulling up a chair, Clark sat next to Lois, a confused and concerned look on his face. "What do you mean?"

Laughing, Lois placed a hand to her forehead. "It's so strange, I mean, I barely know you, yet at the same time, I feel like I've known you forever… like I can tell you anything."

Taking her free hand in his again, Clark gently caressed her fingers. His keen senses once again picked up her increased pulse. "You can tell me anything, Lois."

She looked down to where there hands were joined. "Yeah… somehow… I know I can. I know I can trust you."

"So why don't you start from the beginning."

"Oh, you don't get from the very beginning just yet, Smallville," she joked, a slight twinkle in her eye, "but, I will start from my beginnings here, at the paper. Perry was a friend of my father's. When my father died, Perry took me under his wing and toughened me up. He taught me everything that made me the reporter that I am today. It's not exactly who I am, but it's something I do to get the job done. Being at the top, concentrating and working hard, keeps me focused on the present and not the past."

"Why? What's wrong with the past?"

"The past is filled with nothing but weakness and death," her eyes clouded over as she glared at a spot on the floor, "everyone around me died and there was nothing I could do but sit there and watch."

Clark squeezed her hand. "I… I think I know what you mean. When my father died, I couldn't do anything, either. I felt so helpless."

Lois squeezed his hand back.

"So… how come you're not an ice queen around me."

Smiling, she looked up and met his eye. "Because I don't have to. Because I like you. Because… you make me forget about all of it without having to… be something I'm not."

The two then stared at each other for several moments. Their eye contact was broken when Jimmy came bursting through the door with three fresh white mocha lattes.

"Ok, so, whaddid I miss?"


	4. Chapter 4

Fuse

By Teala373

Chapter 4: I Spent the night with Superman

(o)O(o)

Superman was trying everything he could to win Lois over during the interview, but so far nothing was working. She sat at the table of her balcony, jittering her crossed legs, as she scribbled away on a notepad. She barely ever looked up at him. She only shot out her questions with rapid fire.

They had discussed his purpose, his mission, his statement to the people. They went over the planet he was from, how he came to Earth, and what he knew of his parents. Lois seemed completely unfazed by all of it. She only asked follow-up questions, responding "mm-hmm" when she was satisfied with an answer. She asked him about his powers, his limits, his diet, his habits, his likes and dislikes. No matter what he said, or how he said it, she remained unfazed and still clearly wary of him.

"So," she began while scrawling away on her notepad, "are you truly the only surviving Kryptonian?"

"Yes. As far as I know, I am the only survivor and the one of my kind."

For the first time, Lois looked up and locked eyes with the man before her, who had been keeping a respectable distance, standing against the terrace railing.

"And does that bother you?"

Superman was taken slightly off guard by the question. "Well… I guess that I've lived with this for so long, that I am used to it. I've accepted it. My father sent me here to live, to save me, to help the people of this world where he cold not help the people of his."

Lois' gaze didn't waver. "And so you would be perfectly satisfied with an Earth human as a mate?"

He felt his eyes widen. "I… I've never thought of it that way… but, yes, if I met the right person."

"And how would you define the right person?" she persisted.

Smiling, Superman pointed out towards the sky. "Come and see what I see."

"You aren't answering my question," came a slightly annoyed response.

He turned softened eyes to her. "I am if you will allow me."

Furrowing her eyebrows together, she stood and walked over to where he was standing at the railing. "What are we looking at?"

"What do you see, Lois?"

Sighing, she crossed her arms across the railing and leaned forward. "I see the city lights and the stars."

"I see hope and endless possibilities. I see the stars, and all the galaxies they belong to. I want someone to share that with."

"How poetic," Lois drawled sarcastically. "Can you give me something more specific? Hair color? Interests?"

He gave her a sidelong look before answering. "I prefer brunette reporters that like to eat."

Lois jumped back as though the railing had suddenly become hot and turned wide eyes to the smirking hero. "Uh… sorry… I don't date interviewees."

"What kind of guys do you date?"

"Hey, I'm the one asking the questions."

He smiled playfully. "You can't answer just one simple questions?"

"I don't really date," she replied flatly.

"You don't date, you don't answer questions, and you don't like superheroes. What do you like?"

Ignoring his question, Lois turned away from him and looked back up at the stars, trying to see what he saw.

He cocked his head slightly to one side. "You seem to like that other reporter you're always paling around with. What's his name? Kent?"

"Clark Kent," Lois sighed his name as she leaned over the railing once more. "Yeah, he's great. Guys like him don't usually like girls like me."

Confusion flooded his face. "What do you mean?"

"Nice guys, genuine guys, smart, well-mannered, modest guys. Those guys see me coming and run the other way. They think I'll 'chew them up and spit them out', as my boss says. I tend to attract these egotistical jerks that think they can tame me or keep up with me. That's not what I want at all. What I want is…" She turned suddenly to shoot a suspicious look at the hero standing next to her. "Wait a minute. I am not discussing my love life with you. This is supposed to be an interview."

"Can't we also just have a normal conversation?"

Again ignoring his question, Lois sat back down at her small table and resumed scribbling in her notepad. "Now then, tell me about the government. How are they letting you get away with this?"

"Get away with what?"

"You're an alien, an alien with great power. That has to make people nervous."

"I'm not here to upset anyone. I'm here to help others. I did, however, speak with both the president and the general this morning. I am registered at Star Laboratory for observation, and I have made it very clear that I will not be used as a military weapon."

Lois leveled him with a look of both hostility and contempt. "And you were well received?"

He seemed confused by the question. "Yes. When you are honest and true, you will be well received."

Lois stood, her eyes ablaze. "Well, I think I got everything I need. This concludes the interview."

"Lois… Miss Lane… is there something I do that offends you?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why Metropolis?"

"It's a city in need to protecting. It is a city that has gone without a defender."

"And what do the other superheroes of the world think of you?"

He shrugged. "I haven't met any of them, yet."

"Alright, well, thank you for the interview…"

"Maybe we can meet again another time?"

Lois was gathering her pen and pad, and walking back into her apartment. "Yeah, sure. Don't call me, I'll call you."

(o)O(o)

It didn't take Lois long to hammer out her interview on her computer and upload it to the Daily Planet's servers. She called Perry to tell him to "stop the presses", and then she called Clark to let him know what had happened. He wasn't at home, prompting her to leave a message on his machine.

Clark called her later in the evening, claiming to have been out running errands. "Sounds like you topped your last story, Lois," his upbeat tone made her smile.

"Yeah… but, I feel bad. I mean, we're supposed to be partners on this." In the back of her mind, she marveled at how soft she had gone just from knowing Clark Kent for such a short time.

"Hey, no sweat. I uploaded a side bar to go with your piece that details all the research we did."

"Swear you're not mad?"

Clark smiled into the phone. "I'll tell you what; how about I take you to a nice dinner tomorrow night to show you there's no hard feelings."

"Baring no major catastrophes we have to cover, you're on!"

(o)O(o)

The next morning, Clark walked in with two white chocolate mocha lattes (the taste was growing on him) and two warm croissants to share with Lois. As the elevator door opened, he immediately saw that Lois wasn't at her desk, but he also immediately heard her screaming from Perry's office.

"That was NOT the original title of MY interview!"

"I'm well aware of what you turned it, Lois, but as your editor-in-chief…"

Tuning them out, Clark set his things on his desk and went over to where everyone was crowded around the bulletin board with the morning's newspaper freshly tacked up. The large black type large letters across the front page read "I Spent The Night With Superman".

Clark coughed away a laugh as he went back to his desk and waited for Lois to finish berating Perry for making her interview sound more risqué than it was.

(o)O(o)

For the entire morning, and most of the afternoon, Lois was cranky over having the title to her article changed. She finally calmed down around 3:30 when she and Clark went to interview a Lex Corp representative about a recent robbery in one of their manufacturing plants.

"We could have really used Superman last night, but I guess he was too busy spending the evening with you, Miss Lane," the manager of the plant sneered.

Lois opened her mouth to shoot back an acid response, but Clark cut her off. "He's just one guy. He can't be everywhere at once. Besides, this plant is on the outskirts of Metropolis; so far, we've only seen Superman activity in downtown Metropolis."

"And you can't just count on Superman," Lois threw in. "You should have a better security system in place, and maybe not be so concerned with getting military contracts that you keep development plans that other unscrupulous companies would want to steal."

The plant manager and Lois bantered back and forth until Clark politely, but firmly concluded the investigation, steering Lois back out to the car.

"The nerve of that guy!" Lois screeched as she fastened her seat belt. "Where does he get off saying crap like that? I should've punched his lights out!"

When Clark shot her an incredulous look, she recomposed her self, and settled back into the passenger seat. "Sorry… it's been a long day. I promise to be a better dinner companion tonight."

Smiling, Clark set the car in gear and began driving them back to the office, while Lois fiddled with the police scanner on the dashboard. As they pulled into the parking lot, a request came over the scanner for backup at the pier.

"Uh, Lois, I just remembered I have to run a quick errand," Clark began as Lois shut the passenger car door. "I, um, have to pick my prescription up before the pharmacy closes. I'll pick you up at seven."

Before Lois could say anything, Clark sped off. Glancing at her watch, she noted the time and sighed. She had already turned in an article for tomorrow, but she had wanted to type an outline on the Lex Corp robbery.

Looking over her notes as she rode the elevator, Lois suddenly found a new angle for her story. She spent the rest of her time in the office making phone calls. Her story was going to be about all the people who could have used Superman's help, but he wasn't around.


	5. Chapter 5

Fuse

By Teala373

Chapter 5: Dating

(o)O(o)

Over the next two months, Lois and Clark managed to grab nearly every front page headline with reports of Superman's heroic deeds. Often times, Clark would nail the feature story, while Lois followed with commentary.

Lois often found herself having to be saved by Superman as she would always get too close to the action. No matter how polite or charming he tried to be, Lois was still negative towards him. While she reported factually about his heroics, she would still be scathing in her remarks on how there were other incidents he could have stopped and victims he could have saved.

Her words always cut him to the core, even though his father's message on the holograms prepared him for his feelings on the ones he could not save. He wasn't sent to Earth to stop all of humanities problems, but only to aide them where he could and to provide them with a light to show them the way to their own greatness.

Regardless of his purpose, he was still a man, a man that was in love with a woman who both adored and despised him.

As Clark Kent, he had Lois practically wrapped around his finger. Although they weren't officially dating, there were many more dinner dates and Lois flirted with him endlessly while they worked together.

However, Clark had learned some very interesting things about Lois in the short time he had gotten to know her. She didn't seem to have many friends outside of himself and Jimmy. Once in a while, a college buddy would call, or she would chat with another Planet employee, but other than that, there was no one else she seemed to be friends with. She seemed to have no family and revealed little of herself to anyone other than himself as Clark.

He began to wonder if it had something to do with her hatred of Superman, but he couldn't quite connect the dots.

(o)O(o)

Though Martha Kent had heard of Lois Lane before, she had never seen a picture of her. As she walked into the Daily Planet office, she spotted her immediately. There were some things a mother just knew, and the woman she was looking at was obviously perfect for her son.

"So, this is the office!" Clark announced proudly.

"It's very impressive, dear. Which desk is yours?"

"Over here, Mom."

As he showed her a few of his articles that had made the front page, Lois strolled over. "You must be Mrs. Kent. Hi, I'm Lois."

The elder woman smiled. "Ah, yes! The infamous Lois Lane. I've heard so much about you."

Smiling, Lois wrapped her arm around Clark's. "Actually, it's Lois Kent now. We just got married!"

"Lois!" A high pitch took over Clark's voice as he shot her an incredulous look while turning bright red.

Martha Kent was clearly amused as she watched the exchange between the pair.

Laughing, Lois leaned into Clark. "Oh! The look on your face was priceless!" Giggling, she readdressed the woman across from her. "We're just posing as a married couple for a story. I just like razzing Clark. Come downstairs with us and I'll show you what Clark and I do best around here: have lunch."

"Clark tells me you've been to Smallville before," Martha was very curious about the woman her son was so obviously in love with, and was interested in knowing more about her.

Lois cleared her throat. "Yes… my parents were scientists and they went a few times to investigate a meteor crash site from... oh… almost 3 decades back or so." Her forehead began to scrunch in concentration, "I can never remember the exact year."

"Oh… yes," the elder woman began to rub her hands together nervously as the elevator door opened and they stepped out into the lobby, "I do believe I remember that."

Lois shrugged. "They never really found much, but it was a nice place to visit."

The topic of conversation quickly changed, but Clark was very quiet the entire time, the wheels in the back of his mind grinding furiously. He wondered if Lois' parents had actually found anything. He also thought Lois had agreed with him when he had asked her if she had family there, yet he had heard Perry talk about her father, Samuel Lane, as a retired army colonel. A funny chill crawled up his spine the more he went over the pieces in his mind.

(o)O(o)

Martha Kent's train back to Kansas had barely left the station when an unusually fierce fire was reported on the west side. While Lois had enjoyed talking with Mrs. Kent over lunch, she quickly left the platform, Clark in tow, to catch as much of the action as possible.

As was quickly becoming status quo, Lois got a little too close to the action. In all the distraction of growing flames and falling debris, Clark disappearing down an alley went unnoticed.

Trying to find a quick exit, she turned and noticed that Clark was missing. She screamed his name as the flames closed in around her, and a large piece of concrete crashed on the ground nearby.

In a blue and red blur, she was whisked up into the air. She felt surprisingly warm and safe, like she did when Clark had held her in the office.

"It's alright Miss Lane. Mr. Kent is safe. Now, if you'll excuse me." In another blue and red blur, he was gone.

Lois stood rooted to the spot on the roof of an unaffected building where Superman had set her down. Though Superman was among her least favorite individuals, she was grateful that he had saved her from the damage Volcana was inflicting. And why had she felt warm and safe? Why had she compared it to being with Clark?

She watched him as he flew around Volcana, trying to draw her attacks away from the busier streets. He easily outwitted her, dousing her with water from a nearby hydrant before trapping her with a large metal structure. There was something about him she found mesmerizing. She admired what he did, though the very mention of his name made her tremble with rage. She hated feeling so conflicted, and that caused her to be even angrier towards him.

She completely ignored the strange tingle dancing up her spine.

(o)O(o)

"I can't believe this!" Jimmy whined as he sat in the break room with Lois and Clark. "I've been running all over the city trying to get a decent shot of Superman and Lois nails an award winning shot with her camera phone!"

Clark placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "That's okay, Jimmy. Lois is just lucky when it comes to covering Superman."

"Hey!" Lois yelled, her last mouthful of coffee barely swallowed. "You know I hate being defined by him! I'm a Pulitzer winning journalist, not Superman's press agent!"

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Jimmy droned in a tired sounding voice while winking at Clark, "you were the only journalist to crack the Intergang story, your investigative prowess helped the police in countless Lex Corp scandals, and you hold the record for most front page articles than any other reporter in the history of the 'Planet. Oh! I almost forgot how you're the smartest and most powerful woman of our generation…"

"Knock it off, Jimmy!"

(o)O(o)

"Check it out!" Lois called out as she came up to Clark's desk the day after the Volcana incident. "I scored two tickets to the Gotham Opera this weekend! Pack your bags!"

Laughing at her enthusiasm, Clark glanced at the tickets and noted it was for Madam Butterfly. "I didn't know you like the opera."

"Nobody _likes _opera, Smallville, but it's exciting _going_ to the opera. Besides, I love when Cho-Cho San sings 'One Fine Day'. I used to be able to play it on the piano when my mom forced me to take lessons."

He shot her a look of disbelief.

"What's a matter? Don't like my theory on opera, or can't believe I play the piano?"

"Both."

She laughed. "C'mon, Clark! It'll be fun! I already convinced the Chief to let me book two hotel rooms and you can help me cover the latest Wayne merger while we're there. I'll even treat you to a Knights game."

He crossed his arms over his chest as a smug look overtook his face. "I think I'm going to write my next article on how I've been able to reduce the great Lois Lane to begging."

The look on her face could have stopped traffic.

Slamming the tickets down on his desk, Lois began to walk away. "The chopper leaves tonight at seven. Be there or be square."

Jimmy wandered past Clark's desk. "Smooth, Kent. Real smooth."

(o)O(o)

By the time the Gotham Plaza opened it's doors to host the Wayne Enterprise gala, Clark was on cloud 9. He and Lois had enjoyed a romantic evening the previous night at the opera. He was beginning to think that maybe he could trust Lois with his secret. Maybe then, she would be able to trust Superman and he would be able to share everything he was with her.

"You seemed awfully quiet during the main press conference," Clark commented as he and Lois gave their invitations to the attendant.

"Wayne is usually pretty thorough," Lois commented dryly as they entered the main ballroom, "besides, I've been covering him long enough that I don't always need to ask the usual questions."

A deep, velvety voice came from behind them. "She also forgot to mention we used to date."

Turning around, the pair found themselves face to face with Bruce Wayne, the head of the multi-billion dollar Wayne empire.

"You always have to throw that in," Lois grumbled as she placed her hands on her hips.

Bruce extended a hand towards Clark. "You must be Clark Kent. I hear you're giving Lois a real run for her top spot."

Meeting his firm grasp, Clark tried to keep his cool. "Actually, we're partners."

"Really," Bruce raised an eyebrow at Lois, "I didn't think that was your style."

Lois narrowed her eye dangerously. "If I had known insults came with the invitation, I would have stayed home."

"So you could write another award winning article on your resident alien?"

Eliciting something akin to a growl, Lois grabbed Clark's arm and stalked away from Bruce.

"What was that about?" Clark asked as they got out of earshot.

"Things didn't end too well. He's too much of… how he is, and I'm too much of a reporter."

"I thought you didn't date."

Lois looked at Clark suspiciously. "When did I ever say that?"

He mentally slapped himself, realizing she had said that to Superman and not to Clark.

"I… uh… just noticed that you don't date and, uh, Jimmy mentioned something…"

Lois shot him a flirtatious smile. "I'm dating you, aren't I?"

Thrown aback, Clark could only stare at her blankly. "A-are we dating?"

Lois wrapped her arms around his. "Well, we're always together, we share practically every meal, we've been out on dates, and…"

The romantic interlude was disrupted as Bruce Wayne took the stage and addressed his guests.

"I would like to thank you all for coming tonight. Our merger with Dagget Pharmaceutical, in conjunction with the Thompson, Wayne and Thorn Medical Foundation, will bring about new medical advancements for the entire world. My father was a doctor before being a businessman, and I know this will fall in line with his vision. Please join me this evening in celebrating the future."

After the applause ended, Clark turned towards Lois. "So, you were saying?"

But Lois wasn't listening. "I need a drink to stop from gagging on Bruce's line of garbage."

"You don't think he's sincere?"

"He's sincere, but with Bruce, there's always an ulterior motive as well."

Pausing to order them both Merlot from the bar, Clark pondered what she has said. "Is this from all your investigations into Wayne Enterprises, or from dating Bruce Wayne?"

Lois rolled her eyes. "Both." She took a long sip from the glass Clark handed her. "Dating him was a big mistake. It makes reporting on Wayne Enterprise… awkward…"

Clark opened to his mouth to say something, but stopped when he saw Bruce Wayne walk up to them.

"Lois, I'm sorry our earlier meeting didn't go well. Please accept my apology."

"What's wrong, Bruce? Afraid I'm going to write a scathing article about your latest scheme… I mean, merger?"

Shaking his head, he extended his hand. "Come on, Lois. Let's drop all of this."

Lois looked down at his hand as if it were poisoned.

When she didn't respond, he sighed. "You won't even have one dance with me? For old times sake?"

Lois was about to tell him to buzz off until she realized she might be able to get some more information out of him. Glancing over at Clark, she told him she would be right back before placing her hand in Bruce's.

Clark gripped his glass so hard, it practically cracked in two.

"Maybe I should have asked your boyfriend's permission first," Bruce joked as he led Lois to the dance floor.

"No one speaks for me. You know that."

"Yes, but word is that you don't make a move without Kent."

Frowning as she took up a dance position, Lois tried to blow off his comments. "What I do with Kent is none of your business."

"So you two are dating?"

She broke eye contact. "Sort of."

"How do you 'sort of' date someone?"

Her eyes snapped back to his. "Didn't you write the book on that?"

He feigned hurt. "Touché."

"So, what was your sudden interest in the company that created Clayface? Isn't he the arch enemy of your little errand boy?"

Bruce sighed. "Dagget Pharmaceuticals hasn't been a corrupt entity since Roland Dagget's arrest. The merger ensures it will stay a legitimate company."

"Bat Boy must be thrilled."

"You know I don't have anything to do with Batman."

"I still think Wayne Enterprises, and you, secretly fund the Batman and his exploits."

His blue eyes didn't waver as he held her gaze. "I'm grateful for all the times Batman has protected Wayne assets, but he's not mine."

"You're so full of your own crap, Bruce, and one day I'll catch you waist deep in it."

A corner of Bruce's mouth raised. "I look forward to it."

The music ended, as did the dance. Bruce raised Lois' hand to his lips before bidding her good evening. She watched him walk away, still certain that he was hiding something.

"Do I get the next dance?"

Turning around, she smiled as she slipped her hand into Clark's. "Of course! You are my date after all."

"Did you find anything interesting from Wayne? I assumed you accepted his dance to get more information?" He was still jealous from watching them from the sidelines.

"I always think Wayne is up to something," Lois scoffed, "but he wasn't biting."

The pair began to move in time with the waltz. "What do you think he's hiding?"

Lois closed her eyes and sighed. "I don't want to talk about Bruce Wayne anymore." She then opened her eyes and locked them with Clark's, "I want to finish the conversation we were having earlier."

Clark smiled. "Oh yes, you were telling me how we were dating."

"Yes," Lois looked up at the ceiling as if she were thinking, "so, we're always together, we share practically every meal together, we've been out on dates…"

"You already mentioned those ones."

"We shared a very romantic evening last night."

"Doesn't that get rolled in with 'we've been out on dates'?"

Shrugging, Lois offered a sheepish smile. "You're right. I still got one left, right?"

"Looks that way."

"Well, there's that kiss," she offered with a sly smile.

"Kiss? What kiss? I definitely would've remembered a…" but Clark was cut off as Lois stood up on her tip toes and pressed her lips to his.

"That's how we're dating, Smallville," she replied softly when the kiss ended.

"Well now that we're dating, can you stop calling me 'Smallville'?"

The two shared a quiet laugh as they finished their dance.

"Actually, Clark," Lois began, nervousness creeping into her voice, "there's something I have to tell you."

"There's something I have to tell you, too, Lois."

Her eyes met his again and she afforded a small smile. "So we both have confessions, huh?"

Before Clark could respond, one of the large glass windows in the front of the building exploded. A set of very dangerous thugs, led by Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, marched in the building.

"Good evening Boy Toys and Ghouls!" Harley cheerfully called out as the thugs raised guns at the guests. "If you would be so kind as to donate your cash and jewels to our worthwhile cause…"

"And what cause would that be?" Came a menacing voice. Looking up, Lois and Clark saw Batman standing on a chandelier. He threw a smoke bomb before swinging down to meet his enemies.

"It figures he would be lurking somewhere around here," Lois mumbled.

Trying to think fast, Clark grabbed her arm and led her behind the bar. "You stay here," he instructed as he forced Lois to crouch down, "I'm going to try and… uh… help the other guests."

"What? Clark get back here!" Lois called out, but it was to no avail. He was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Fuse

By Teala373

Chapter 6: World's Finest

(o)O(o)

Batman was quick to knock out several thugs before setting his sights on Harley. However, Poison Ivy had brought plenty of her deadly plantings and was causing large carnivorous vines to sprout about the main room. Lois barely stifled an 'you've got to be kidding' when Superman suddenly made the scene.

Superman used his heat vision to mow down the plants, then disarmed Poison Ivy of the rest of her arsenal with his super speed. Tying her up with a dead tendril, he went to work on the remaining thugs as Batman finally stopped Harley and her array of childish weapons.

The Gotham police quickly arrived and were well equipped to cart away the strange villains their city had to offer. As the commotion died down, Superman met Batman on the roof of the Gotham Plaza tower.

"I didn't ask for your help, and you're out of your jurisdiction," came Batman's cold reply as Superman approached him.

The blue and red clad hero narrowed his eyes. "I happened to be in the area and couldn't idly stand by while your guests were in danger, _Bruce_."

"Why don't you go back to your date,_ Clark_."

"H-how did you…"

"I may not have the ability to look through people's mask, not that it would help me since you don't wear one, but I did perform a little investigating on you when you first became active. There was a rumor you were a Lex Corp robot that would eventually turn on the city once its trust was gained. As Lex Corp would had to have used Wayne Tech supplies from our partnership to accomplish this, I had to see for myself."

"Fine, we're even. Just stay away from Lois." Superman concluded, clearly annoyed.

Batman stiffened, as he stood straighter. "I'm the least of your worries with Lois."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that there is more to Lois Lane than meets the eye. I had a few suspicions when we were dating, but I was never able to find anything conclusive. What I did discover didn't look good. She's hiding something, something big, and I think it has to do with why she's not crazy about one of your two identities."

Opening a pouch on his belt, Batman produced a mini disk and handed it to Clark. "Here are my investigative findings thus far. Good luck… to you both."

Shooting out a jump line, Batman jumped off the rooftop and swung out into the night.

Superman looked at the small disk, wondering if he could trust the Dark Knight, or if he was just toying with him.

(o)O(o)

"Clark! Are you alright?" Lois called as she ran up to him. "I was looking for you everywhere!"

"Sorry, Lois. I was just answering a few questions for the officers. Can you believe both Batman and Superman were here?"

"Yeah," Lois snorted, "every time I try to have a super-free evening, he just drops in out of the sky."

Clark winced. "I still don't know why…"

"Come on, let's get out of here," tugging on his arm, Lois led him out of the building. She didn't want to get in to another discussion about why she didn't like Superman.

(o)O(o)

When Clark was finally back in his Metropolis apartment, he unceremoniously tossed the disk Batman gave him in one of his desk drawers. He didn't completely trust the Dark Knight and had what he felt were more pressing problems.

Despite the interruptions, he and Lois had enjoyed their Gotham weekend. He couldn't help but to have fallen in love with Lois from the first moment he saw her. However, his happiness was bound from his anxiety over telling Lois his secret.

Though he had grown bolder in his Clark Kent persona, he felt that it might be easier to tell her the truth as Superman. He convinced himself he could better gain her trust that way.

Removing his glasses and changing into his uniform, he decided it was time to take another trip to Lois' terrace.

(o)O(o)

Humming an old Ella Fitzgerald song to herself, Lois unpacked her bags from her Gotham weekend. Though she had the heavy secrets of her past constantly weighing upon her, she brushed them aside for the moment, allowing only thoughts of Clark to occupy her mind.

For the longest time, she had thrown herself into her work, focusing on her goal of becoming a top rated journalist and holding on to her high position. The pursuit kept her mind focused away from the thoughts of who she truly was.

Clark was the one person she had ever encountered that made the ghosts of her pasts go away without her having to focus so hard on something else. With Clark, she felt free, whole and warm. She was able to concentrate on the present and be happy.

Of course, she knew that the happiness might come at a price. She had to tell Clark the truth; she owed him that. Even if it made him turn away from her, she would be honest.

As she walked though her living room to return an item from her suitcase, she stopped, sensing that she wasn't alone. Turning, she saw the form of Superman through her sliding glass door as he stood out on her terrace.

She didn't scream, but a funny little tingle raced up her spine. She frowned at herself, because it wasn't a feeling of fear, but one of excitement. Though she hated to admit it, she was secretly in awe of Superman each time she saw him, despite her outward hatred of him. She couldn't explain it, but it happened each time she saw him, each time he saved her, each time he carried her away in his arms.

Though there was a part of her that was thoroughly annoyed that he was on her terrace, she seemed drawn to him. She walked towards the terrace as though she had little will of her own. Within what felt like a blink of an eye, she was standing before him, and taking his proffered hand.

"There's something I want to show you, Lois," came his low, calm tone.

She looked into his eyes and saw something true and sincere. No matter how much contempt she held for him, she knew he would never lead her to danger. Taking his hand, she soon found herself flying across the sky with the hero.

He flew at a frighteningly fast speed, but one that wouldn't hurt her. He held her underneath him, one arm securely across her shoulders, the other tight across her waist. Despite the cold of the travel, she felt a strong warmth radiating from him. She felt guilty as deep down, she was enjoying the journey, enjoying being close to him. She felt as though she were not only betraying Clark, but that she was betraying a very large part of herself.

The conflict of her thoughts was so heavy on her mind that she dozed off for a short time. When she awoke, she saw a most amazing site. A towering fortress of ice and crystal loomed before her.

"Where… where are we?" she managed to ask as he slowed his speed down.

"Antarctica," he replied as they landed in front of the structure. I wanted to show you this."

"Is this… is this where you…"

"It is mine, but I do not live here. It is a place for me to come."

One eyebrow shot up into her hairline. "To do what?"

He smiled. "You'll see."

As they walked inside, she marveled at the architecture. He explained how it came into being and how he was able to access archives and interactive holograms of his past. He couldn't help but to note that she was seemed more than fascinated with each finding, especially the Kryptonian archives.

He inserted crystal after crystal in the main console, showing her more and more knowledge on Krypton. During an ecology lesson, he heard the faint grumblings coming from her stomach.

"You must be hungry."

She looked up at him sheepishly. "I forgot you can hear everything… yeah, I'm a little hungry."

"Wait right here. I'll be right back with something to eat."

Lois pondered viewing more of the archives, but she was afraid she would somehow damage the delicate looking console. Stretching, she decided to walk around and view more of the structure. She found herself wandering downward, jumping from platform to platform until she was tens of feet below where she had started. She didn't know what compelled her to do such a thing, but she had always been adventurous and had a talent for getting into trouble.

She had finally jumped and climbed to the lowest point she could. Looking up, she was again awe struck again by the beauty around her. As she continued to look around, she noticed a small opening nearby that resembled a cave. Curious, she entered, but found that because of the darkness, she couldn't travel very far.

She began to admire the walls and examine the structure. She wondered what parts of Krypton had structures like this. Finally wandering out of the cave, her thoughts ambling about on Krypton, she looked back up at the way she had come.

"How do I get myself into these things?" she wondered aloud upon realizing that while climbing down was easy, getting back up would prove difficult.

As she always did when she found herself in a conundrum, Lois fiddled with a bracelet that she wore high on her arm, though the fabric of her shirt. No one ever knew she wore it, as she always kept it hidden underneath a sleeve, but she wondered if Superman had sensed it, had seen it.

She wondered if her knew the truth and that was what terrified her the most.


End file.
